Just like the rulers of the Philistines employed Delilah to weaken Samson, the devil employs lust to weaken the church or a Christian. He employs lust to entice us and expose our weaknesses by drawing us away from our strengths, so that the he can overpower us, bind us, and afflict us. The Philistine leaders paid money to Delilah to deceive Samson. Similarly lust is affiliated with money. That’s why the love, or better still, the lust of money, not money, is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10).

Lust is controlled by money. Love controls money. Lust uses money as a tool to bind you. Love uses money as a tool to set you free.

Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.” And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the Lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand.
(Judges 16:15-18 NKJV)

Did you notice the back and forth between Delilah and Samson (Judges 16:1-18)? That’s how lust is with us too. We may go back and forth in fighting against the lusts of our flesh, and if we’re like Samson we’ll eventually give up and give in to our fleshly desires. And this will be fatal. Samson was with the wrong person and in the wrong place. He was at a disadvantage. We can’t continue hanging out with the wrong friends and going to environments where there are strong temptations that stimulate our lusts, and not expect to succumb to our desires.

Jesus said we should pray not to enter into temptation. Some of us are willing to do right but our flesh is weak. You might be willing to live right, but you can’t continue going to the wrong environment and hanging out with the wrong people without entering temptation. Our flesh is weak, thanks to its lusts. Samson succumbed and he was weakened.

Delilah or Lust pestered him, pressured him, and pressed him. It manipulated him. That’s the same thing lust does to you and I. Our lusts pester, pressure, depress and manipulate us. They make us feel guilty. It messes with our minds and causes us to give up what is important to us. Some have lost their virtue, dignity and credibility because of lust.

Lust is aggressive. Love is submissive. Lust is desperate. Love is temperate. Lust makes you feel guilty. Love makes you free. Lust manipulates. Love motivates. Lust takes advantage of you. Love gives you the advantage. Lust takes. Love gives.

Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.
(Judges 16:19 NKJV)

Lust lulls you to sleep. When we are under the spell of lust, we become desensitized to what is happening to us. We gradually go in a downward spiral. By the time we discover what is happening to us we are rock bottom. Sometimes when people start out indulging in their lusts they are still able to function normally. But there comes a point where their lusts have taken so much control over them that they are not able to do business as usual. In Samson’s case he thought that he could just jump up like he did at other times and break himself free; but, he was given a rude awakening. Lust had stolen his strength.

And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.
(Judges 16:20 NKJV)

Lust also torments us. Since fear torments and faith works in love, it’s safe to conclude that fear works in lust. Love energizes faith. Lust energizes fear. Perfect love casts out fear, but lust invites fear. Love is not blind. Lust is. See what it did to Samson. It led to his blindness. Lust blinds you and binds you.

Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him to Gaza. They bound him with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.
(Judges 16:21 NKJV)

Notice where Samson ended up? He ended up in Gaza, in bondage, grinding. I believe Gaza was a turning point in his downward spiral.

However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaven. (Judges 16:22 NKJV)
And he judged Israel twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
(Judges 15:20 NKJV)

So it happened, when their hearts were merry, that they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them. And they stationed him between the pillars. Then Samson said to the lad who held him by the hand, “Let me feel the pillars which support the temple, so that I can lean on them.” Now the temple was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there—about three thousand men and women on the roof watching while Samson performed. Then Samson called to the LORD, saying, “O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!”

And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left. Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.  And his brothers and all his father’s household came down and took him, and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah. He had judged Israel twenty years.
(Judges 16:25-32 NKJV)

Notice that Samson was judging Israel for 20 years before he met Delilah. After he met her, and died, he judged Israel for 20 years. In essence, he was doing fine until he met Delilah, and his ministry ended up abruptly. Lust will cut your life and ministry short. Lust can cause you to lose your marriage, relationship, business, scholarship or job abruptly! Just like that. You might have been doing well for a while and then all of a sudden the bottom falls out. That’s what lust can do to us. It did for Samson. He led Israel for 20 years. He hooked up with Delilah, and his ministry, leadership and tenure in office ended shortly after.

Perhaps you’re familiar with a part that I skipped in the story. His hair began to grow back. He prayed to God to give him strength. He asked a lad to place his hands on two pillars while people were watching him entertain them. And he pushed the pillars and brought the building down to kill everyone, including himself. In his prayer, he asked God to let him die with the people. I don’t believe God answered him because the Bible did not mention anything about God responding to him.

Notwithstanding, his strength was connected to his hair; and the Bible clearly revealed that his hair was growing back. The last point, however, that I want to make about lust is that it’s suicidal. Samson killed others and killed himself. Lust can lead to suicide. Violence, jealousy, dissension (strong disagreements) are also lusts of the flesh.